The Best Mistake of My Life
by blackdress13
Summary: It may have seemed like a mistake, but was it really all wrong? Or was Ginny just in a serious case of denial? AU.
1. Introduction to Innocence

A/N AU Harry never went to Hogwarts and has never met the Weasleys. But what happens when he meets the youngest one? Even if the circumstances aren't exactly ideal. Follow Ginny as she discovers a few things about herself, the person she is meant to be and the person she is meant to be with. Because I think, in whatever universe, Harry is meant for Ginny.  
Ok so this idea is sort of confusing I know, but you'll get you're head around it, I promise! This is just an introductory chapter so bear with me.

I've spent my whole life dreaming about Mr. Right, but have only ever managed to find Mr. Right Now. I knew that the perfect guy would find me one day, I just wasn't expecting it where I found him, and I was getting tired of waiting.

That's me; Ginny Weasley. I've always been one for action, and will never willingly just sit back and watch things play out. But I tend to be hasty, and have been all my life. It's always gotten me into trouble in my family.

The Weasleys, where do I start? We are quite possibly the largest wizarding family around. First there's my dad, Arthur, who pretends to be the head of the family when we all really know that it's mum. He works at the Ministry of Magic in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts office. (Yawn) Boring I know, but dad is obsessed with Muggles, mum doesn't get it.

My mum Molly. Possibly Britain's most scary women when she's angry, although I could give her a run for her money! Merlin that women can glower, but I love her really, we all do. Mum is the glue that holds our large and dysfunctional family together. But enough about my parents. I'd better get started on my brothers, or I'll run out of room.

Brothers, I have 6 of them, and they come in all the varieties. They're all older, and _all_ of them can be a pain in the backside when the want to be, especially Ron. But I love them all equally, or almost equally, even if they do rub me up the wrong way sometimes.

First, and he's always first because he's the oldest, is Bill. Now Bill is 9 years older than me, but I still think he's the coolest. However, he did choose to marry the most annoyingly perfect princess in all of France, so I have my doubts about his sanity. No, Fleur's ok really, she's just everything I'm not; girly. Bill works at Gringotts now, but he used to be a curse breaker in Egypt.

Second comes Charlie, who's always fun. I can't remember a time when he wasn't smiling. He loves the outdoors. He taught me how to fly because none of my other brothers believed that a girl could possibly be good at Quidditch. I showed them! But Charlie's special. He loves dragon, and is currently working with wild ones in Romania.

Next is Percy. There's really only one word to describe Percy, pompous. He can be a real git, but his heart is in the right place; most of the time. He's very ambitious, Percy. Always trying to push boundaries. He works at the Ministry of Magic like dad, but I have no idea what he does there, and I don't intend to find out. Not unless I feel the urge to have my socks bored off.

Then come Fred and George. I'll put them in the same paragraph because they're never apart. Why would they be, they're twins. They're also always trying to push boundaries, but different ones. Fred and George were always the trouble makers at school, and that's carried on into their adult life. If there was a prank at Hogwarts you kind of knew who was behind it, but no one could ever prove it. They are masters at covering their own tracks. Luckily they taught me a few tricks. They own a joke shop in Diagon Alley, Weasleys Wizard Wheezes. (Clever don't you think?)

Lastly there's Ron. Well, technically I'm last, but I'm not one of my brothers. Ron is actually my favourite brother, but if you tell him I said that, I will shove this quill where the sun doesn't shine. But enough about my aggressive tendencies, and back to ickle Ronnikins.

I've always felt sorry for Ron. He's the youngest of 6 brothers, yes I know I'm the youngest, but it's all different for me because I'm a girl. You see, poor Ron has so much to live up to. Before him, we've had 2 head boys, a Quidditch captain, and Hogwarts' most notorious mischief makers. Ron has had to compete with that for his whole life, and still find time to be himself. He's not the most gifted wizard, but he has always looked after me, even when I didn't need it. He finished school last year, and is now in Auror training. That's something no one in the family has done before.

Then there's me. 7th daughter of a 7th daughter, and a 7th son of a 7th son which is supposed to make me a powerful witch. Ron likes to tell me that he doesn't see it, but he hasn't been on the other end of one of my Bat Bogey Hexes yet. I'll get him. I'm the first female Weasley for several generations, if you can believe that. It's kind of strange, but perfectly true. There are _so_ many men in my extended family.

Now being a Weasley gives you a few certain traits. Firstly, we are all quite tall; my brothers are more than myself. Second, we all have an annoying skin condition which most people call freckles. I _hate_ them. Lastly, we all have flaming red hair. You could pick a Weasley out of a crowd of wizards in no time. It's just so distinctive. I'm not complaining, it's just annoying that I can't pretend from time to time that I'm no related to my brothers. Some of the things they do!

I would like to say that I think I'm fairly attractive, but I don't want to sound conceited. If there's one thing I hate, it's people who are up themselves. I have brown eyes, and long wavy hair. Let's just say that I'm quite content with the way I look, and leave it at that.

Red heads have always been described as feisty, and I'm no exception. I will always express my opinion, and never like to admit that I'm wrong. If someone gets on my nerves I'll just tell them, and _boy_ will they regret it. Some people fear me. That makes me laugh because I'm not a scary person, only when I'm angry. I'm really just a softy. I'm a sucker for romance, and I'm always looking for a good time. I don't like to take things too seriously because I like to have fun. Life's boring if you get too hung up on homework and exams. I've always wanted to make the most of my life, and I try not to waste a moment. I guess that's why I'm so impatient, and incompetent at just sitting back and watching things unfold. But I've always been the innocent one in the family. I've never crossed the line, and I always intended to remain the 'good girl'. I'm not uptight though, and I know how to break the rules, but I've never intended to become the girl that everyone talks about. That's just not me.

I'm a very strong person. I don't like other people doing things for me, and I like to handle my own problems. I wouldn't say no to some help, but I'm rather independent. I'm a very proud person and I rarely ever cry.

I've had a few boyfriends. I'm 17 and I go to a co-ed school, what do you expect? I'm normally the one to end it though. None of them have ever lasted very long. I've never really had serious feelings for a guy. Even if though I liked a couple of the guys a lot, they always turned out to be really clingy or overprotective. That's just not what I needed, another brother.

I suppose the story begins at the start of my final year. It was the year that everything changed. I'd done a lot of growing up over the summer. I wasn't a little girl anymore, I was _finally_ an adult, and along with that came responsibilities.

The most serious of these responsibilities was my Head Girl's badge. I was as shocked as you are, but the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, must have had his reasons. When the badge fell out of my letter, my mum cried. She gets like that when one of her children does something to be proud of. Dad was pleased too, along with all of my brothers, except for Fred and George. They acted all ashamed, and told me that they thought they'd raised me right. I just laughed. As much as I admired their mischief making skills I never envisaged myself going in a similar direction to them. Not that there's anything wrong with making truckloads of money from their whacky inventions. It's not my thing, that's all.

So being Head Girl promised to have its ups and downs. On the up I could put anyone who annoyed me in detention, and dock points from people I didn't like. Percy told me that that's abusing my power, but I just ignored him. The down side of the power was having to patrol the corridors a few times a week, organizing things like prefect meetings, and basically being on good behavior for the entire year. I wasn't allowed to break rules of any kind.

I headed to Hogwarts that year expecting it to be the best year of my life. I was Head Girl, a member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, a seventh year, studying the subjects I was actually good at, one year away from finishing school forever, the only Weasley at Hogwarts (no annoying brothers), and had passed my apparition test. Ok so you can't apparate inside the Hogwarts grounds, but at least everyone would know that I could if I wanted to. So from the summer, it looked to be the perfect year. There would be no hiccups, no distractions and I could just have a peaceful, quiet time. I can't really emphasize how wrong this perception was, because no matter how hard you try, you can never have a quiet year at Hogwarts.

I arrived in the Great Hall for the start of term feast as usual. This is where the story begins. The hall was just as I remembered it, although the enchanted ceiling, which had been a clear blue when I had been there last, was now a murky grey. It was enchanted to look like the sky outside. I walked on over to Gryffindor table, and sat down with my two best friends; Colin Creevy on my left, and Britney Green on my right.

The actual feast went perfectly. I'd missed the Hogwarts cooking, but that's no insult to my mother's handiwork in the kitchen. I filled up on all my favourite foods whilst listening to my housemates recount their summers to the others.

"I am so glad to be back here," said Melinda Gordon, one of my room mates. "It beats spending time with my sister. I'd rather take double potions with Snape than spend an afternoon with her. She drives me crazy."

"Sisters are nothing," Erin Walters, Melinda's best friend, and another person I shared a dorm with, replied. "I spent the summer listening to my mother badgering me about everything. That woman won't leave me alone. She has to know every little detail about my life. As if I'm going to tell her."

"Well my dad has been lecturing me about what careers I should be thinking about," Kyle Wilson said. He shared a room with Colin. He deepened his voice which I assume was an impression of his father. "This is a very important part of your life. You're NEWT results will affect what careers you can pursue and if you don't get a respectable job then I haven't done my job right." A few people laughed, and agreed that their parents had said similar things over the holidays.

"How was your summer Ginny babe?" Britney asked me.

"Oh fine," I replied "Charlie was supposed to come and stay from Romania, but couldn't, and Fred and George were round a lot. Didn't see Bill much, I expect he was working, and Percy was giving me countless lectures when he found out I was Head Girl. I think he made a bigger deal than mum, and that's saying something." Britney and Colin laughed.

"Yeah I spent my summer with my family," Colin said. "My dad, Dennis and I went on a fishing trip."

"What's fishing?" I asked. Colin and his younger brother Dennis had come from a muggle family, and he often said things I didn't understand.

"It's when you use bait, hooks, string, and long poles to catch fish out of rivers," Britney said. I looked at her in surprise. She, like me came from a wizarding family, and I didn't think she'd know about these muggle activities. "What? I took muggle studies for 3 years. Just because I failed my OWL doesn't mean I didn't learn anything." I laughed and Colin chuckled.

"Well, what did you do over the summer Brit?" I asked her.

"Oh it was pretty quiet," she said. "Nothing exciting. I just stayed at home really." I nodded, and we went into a comfortable silence. I looked around the hall at the various students eating and chatting. A warm feeling spread through my stomach. Hogwarts had always felt like a second home. It just had a family feeling, except for the Slytherin table. I wouldn't be in their family if you paid me.

When everyone had finished eating, Professor Dumbledore got to his feet for his start of term address. A hush fell over us all as we waited for him to speak.

"Welcome to, and back to Hogwarts," he said warmly. "We have a busy year ahead as always, but before I let it start I have a few notices." Dumbledore went on to speak about things like the Forbidden Forest, and banned items. We older students didn't really pay attention because we'd heard it so many times before. It wasn't until he reached the new staff appointments that I tuned in again. I knew we'd be getting a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, as the previous one had retired last year, and as it was my favourite subject. I was anxious to know who would be teaching it this year.

"As you all know," Dumbledore continued. "Our previous Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher retired at the end of last year. I am proud to announce that I've found a replacement. Allow me to introduce Professor Potter." Dumbledore indicated to a wizard on his right, and I followed his hand. My eyes fell on the hottest boy, no man, I've ever seen. I can't stress how good looking he was. It felt like I'd been winded by a bludger; I couldn't breathe. Professor Potter couldn't have been more then 18. He had messy, jet black hair that stuck up at odd angles. He stood up and waved at the hall when Dumbledore said his name, and I got a good look at his physique. Perfect was an understatement. His body was hot. He was hot. He was my teacher.

Hang on those two sentences didn't seem right together. My Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor was better looking then all the 7th year boys put together, and it seemed that every girl in the hall had noticed. I couldn't see what colour his eyes were because he was quite far away. They looked brown, but I wasn't sure, because his glasses obstructed the view. His skin was evenly tanned, and he was wearing a smile that could have rivaled Gilderoy Lockhart's. (Lockhart has won Witch Weekly's most charming smile award 7 times in a row now. My mum has a thing for him, but he _is_ very handsome). Lockhart had nothing on Professor Potter.

Wait, this was going to be a big problem. I thought about this as I walked with Britney and Colin up to Gryffindor Tower.

"That Professor Potter is hot," Britney said as we climbed through the portrait hall, and entered Gryffindor common room.

"Yeah," I said weakly. Colin just snorted. "This could be a big problem."

"Why?" Britney asked. We headed over to the comfy arm chairs by the fire, and sat down. Colin didn't join us. He just went up to bed.

"How am I supposed to learn anything from him," I asked. "I'll be too busy looking at his body to take in what's coming out of his mouth." We dissolved into silence. Britney didn't seem to be as worried as me. Maybe she hadn't experienced the sudden loss of breath at the sight of him. I had never understood the term 'breathtaking' until then.

I soon got over my worries. So I was attracted to him, big deal. It was only a crush. I could get over a stupid crush. Oh how wrong I was.


	2. The First Lesson

A/N Hey, so thanks for the support for the first chapter. This is a really short chapter, but I promise they're getting longer! This story is also available over at SIYE. That's it I guess, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

You know how there're moments in you life that you'll never forget? Moments that will stick with you forever. Well, I'm pretty sure I won't be forgetting my first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Potter in a hurry.

It wasn't a bad lesson. On the contrary, it was an excellent lesson. It was the best Defence against the Dark Arts lesson I've ever had. Professor Potter really knows what he's talking about. It was amazing to watch him control the class effortlessly. He just demanded our respect. I found myself fascinated by him, I mean it.

I arrived in the classroom a little bit early. There were only two other people in the room. A boy in the corner, and a girl at the front. I was a little bit nervous. I was just checking my reflection in a nearby window, when Britney walked in, and sat down on my left. When Colin came in a minute later, he scowled at Britney, who was applying lip gloss, and sat on my right. He continued to look jealously at her, but as usual, she was oblivious to him. I wasn't though. I leant over and muttered in his ear.

"You know," I said. "She's never going to pay attention to you if you just sit back and do nothing." Colin looked at me. His cheeks were growing red.

"What are you talking about?" He asked without meeting my eye.

"Why don't you just tell her that you fancy her?" I whispered to him. There was no way Britney could have heard me, but that didn't stop him glancing at her in fear.

"I don't," Colin said, a little too quickly.

"Suit yourself," I said superiorly. "But I'm not oblivious you know. Even if she is." I added with a knowing look. Colin open and shut his mouth a few times, at a loss as to what he should say. I just giggled.

By that time, the whole class was seated and talking excitedly. There was no sign of our teacher. He was probably planning a big entrance. I was just wondering aloud where he was, when a loud voice sounded from the corner.

"You know what the first thing we are going to work on in this class is," I turned to look at the speaker, and almost fell out of my chair in shock. Sitting in the corner, dressed in Hogwarts robes with his feet up on the desk, was Professor Potter. I hadn't given him a second glance when I came in. Clearly, neither had the boy sitting beside him, because he was gaping at Professor Potter in complete and utter astonishment. Potter was grinning widely as he stood up, and waved his wand. His robes were replaced by jeans and a t-shirt. "Your observation skills are terrible." He told the stunned class. There was a hearty pause as everyone took in what he'd said before everyone laughed. I chuckled a little, but I was again experiencing the sudden loss of breath at the sight of him.

He strode to the front of the class, still grinning. There was something strange about his smile though. I couldn't see the happiness. Something about his eyes made me feel sad. He wasn't really happy.

Now that I was closer I could see the colour of his eyes. They were a stunning emerald green. I had never seen eyes like that before. They shone brightly, reflecting the sun from the window. I found myself mesmerized.

"What has observation got to do with Defence against the Dark Arts Sir?" Colin asked. This snapped me out of my reverie.

"Everything," Potter said seriously. "It's essential that you take in every aspect of your surroundings. Just the smallest detail could save you life. You never know what might happen." He said darkly, and I saw a shadow cross his face as though he were remembering something painful.

Professor Potter's first action was to take the role. I thought I detected a small pause as he reached my name, but then I could just be exaggerating that because I heard most of the girls claiming that as we left the class later. Our eyes met for a moment, but he moved on. My eyes remained on his face.

"Professor Potter," Erin Walters said with her hand in the air when he had finished marking the role. He looked up.

"Yes Miss," He looked down at the role. "Walters?" He asked, the air of guessing in his tone.

"Yes," Erin blushed, but continued. "Well if you don't mind me asking sir, you couldn't be more than 18, right?" He paused for a moment, a slight frown creasing his face.

"Yeah, I'm 18," He said slowly, and Erin ploughed on.

"Well that means you would have had to graduate from here last year, but you didn't. I've never seen you before," She made a good point.

"I think we would have noticed you," I said absentmindedly, blinking at him. I was amazed at my own daring. Everyone laughed, and Professor Potter grinned at me. My heart skipped a beat. This time I could see it was a real smile. His eyes looked warmly upon me, and I could see his features light up with joy.

"I wouldn't expect you to have seen me before," he replied coolly. "I only came here for part of my first year."

"Well then what makes you qualified to teach us," One of Colin's room mates, Billy Matthews, said aggressively. "You didn't even set us a book."

"I assure you Mr. Matthews that I am quite qualified to teach you," Potter said, and I could see a flicker of anger flash cross his emerald eyes. "And as for the book, well, I believe in a more practical approach."

"So what are we going to be doing this year sir?" I asked. His eyes turned upon me again.

"Dueling," he said simply and there was a murmur of excitement "Dumbledore has asked me to train you all in combat, so that's what I'm here to do. I will get each and every one of you past your exams, and then I plan to move on."

"You're leaving?" Melinda Gordon blurted out.

"Yes. I'm doing Dumbledore a favour. I'll be here for one year, and then I plan to get on with my career."

"Which is?" Billy asked. Personally I thought he sounded rather rude. Professor Potter seemed to think so too, because he surveyed Billy rather coldly.

"I am a fully qualified and operational Auror Mr Matthews, not that it's any of your business," I giggled because Billy looked like he'd been slapped across the face. The entire class was looking at Professor Potter with mounting respect. It seemed that he was a very powerful wizard, to be an Auror at his age. "Now onto today's lesson," he said brightly, rubbing his hands together. "The subject Defence Against the Dark Arts is the most important of your studies, but I believe that you have little or no knowledge of what you're learning to defend yourselves against. Am I right?" There was silence.

"What do you mean sir?" Britney asked from beside me, and I saw him start ever so slightly at being called sir.

"Let me rephrase it," Professor Potter cast around for the right words. "Have any of you ever faced evil?" There was more silence, and I took pity on him.

"Well I don't know about everyone else," I said. "But I'm fortunate enough to say no. I hope I never have to."

"Thankyou Miss Weasley," he said. "So you may all have your assumptions on what evil is, but do any of you really know?" We all shook our heads slowly. Potter continued. "So if you don't know what evil is, then learning to defend yourselves against it is about as effective as a muggle on a broomstick. You know it's out there, but you don't know what it is."

"Are you going to tell us sir?" Colin asked.

"I could tell you all exactly what it feels like to have evil inside you. I could describe its face, tell you how evil thinks," The entire class was hanging on his every word. No teacher had ever made anything sound so chilling, and yet I was drawn in. The way he spoke intrigued me. "There are many things I've seen that could chill you to the bone. Let's just say I have experience in the matter."

"Will you be telling us this sir?" Billy asked in an awed voice.

"In good time. I'm supposed to train you properly," he said standing up. "But right now, I'm going to set my first piece of homework," The class groaned loudly. "Now come on, we can't have that. If I don't set you homework I'll be having no fun at all. Where would my authority go?" He grinned, and flicked his wand at the blackboard. Neat writing appeared there. Professor Potter read aloud. "A comparative essay. Two rolls of parchment on the difference between Bad and Evil. It's all opinion, so there are no wrong answers. Any questions?"

"When's it due?" Someone asked above the sounds of everyone diving for quills and parchment to scribble it down.

"Oh yes, next lesson," Potter said, and he consulted a timetable. "So, that's Thursday," The bell rang. "See you all then." He called over the heads of the class. Everyone had stood up, and was moving towards the door. I was the last to leave, and I looked back to see Professor Potter at his desk all alone. Now was my chance to talk to him.

I doubled back, and approached the desk shyly.

"Um, Sir," I said. He looked up at me and smiled.

"Yes Miss Weasley," He said in a polite voice.

"Well I don't know if you know sir, but I'm Head Girl," I said inventing fast. "And I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed the lesson."

"Really," he said eagerly and it occurred to me how young he was. He was only one year older then me. "You liked it?"

"Oh yeah," I said truthfully. "It was fascinating. You can really captivate a classroom." A slight flush crept up my cheeks, but I didn't look away.

"Thankyou," He said a little awkwardly. I turned to go, but then thought of something else to say.

"Professor," I said and he looked at me. "Welcome back to Hogwarts." I smiled warmly at him and left the room.

As I walked down the corridor I couldn't believe myself. I had been flirting with my teacher! What would my mother think?


	3. Books and Bondings

A/N I apologise for these first few chapters being so short, but originally they were all like this and then I started combining them. DW they'll get longer soon! Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

I thought that Professor Potter could be a distraction. I was wrong. He was _so_ much more than a distraction. Everytime my thoughts drifted from classes or Quidditch, which was quite often because I have the attention span of my brother Ron's owl Pigwidgeon, I found myself daydreaming about him. No not Ron, Professor Potter. I found myself thinking things that a student really shouldn't be thinking about their Professor, even if he is the hottest boy, or whatever, on earth. Oh _why_ are the best ones always off limits?

The more I saw him, the more I thought about him. You see I kept running into him, and before you say anything, no, it _wasn't_ on purpose. Well, sometimes it was, but can you blame me? I suppose you can, but you haven't seen a picture of him yet.

The day after my first interaction with him, I was alone in the library during a free period, trying, and failing to do his essay. It was really difficult. I couldn't think of anything to write.

"Damn you Professor Potter!" I cursed, and slammed my books onto the table. The librarian, Madam Pince, glared in her vulture like manner at me, but then something behind me caught my complete attention.

"Having trouble with my essay are you?" Said a sexy voice from behind my ear. I jumped about a foot in the air, and knocked all of my things off the table. Paper, quills and ink went flying. I went bright red at the sight of Potter, who was smiling at my clumsiness, and hurriedly bent down to right the mess.

"You scared me Professor," I said to the floor, and to my surprise, he bent down to help me. What a gentlemen. My hair had fallen infront of my eyes, and I drew it to one side to get it out of the way. Then I leant over to pick up something from behind his foot. I could feel his eyes on me, and smiled to myself. We straightened up and I flicked my fringe out of my eyes. He handed me a wad of parchment, as I turned back to sit down at the table.

"Thanks, but I think I've got ink all over my work," I looked down sadly at my previously finished Transfiguration essay, which was now covered with ink, and impossible to read.

"That can be fixed," He said, and he waved his wand. Instantly the extra ink on my essay vanished, leaving it looking just as it had done before.

"Thank you," I said smiling gratefully up at him. I wasn't looking foreword to having to rewrite it.

"But I thought it was _my_ essay you were doing," he flashed a grin. "I assume that's why you were cursing me."

"Ah," I said shuffling papers around. "For you to be removing ink from _that_ essay, would require me to have actually written something. I can't think of anything to say. There's a first for everything." He laughed at my joke. I liked his laugh, it made me feel warm.

"Maybe I can help," He pulled out a chair, and sat down, looking at me thoughtfully.

"But it's _your_ essay," I said, and I raised my eyebrows at him. I didn't want to turn down his company, but... "That would be cheating Professor Potter."

"Don't call me that I hate it," he said, and he looked a little bit sad. "It makes me sound so serious and old."

"Well what do you want me to call you then?" I asked. It felt strange to be having a conversation like this with a teacher, but I couldn't help but notice how comfortable I felt talking to him.

"Harry," he said looking at me. "Just Harry."

"Well just Harry," he smiled, and I felt embarrassed at the obvious cliché of my words. "You still can't help me with my essay."

"Why not," he asked. "I'm not doing it for you. I'm only helping." I really didn't want to make him go so I agreed. I really liked the way he was looking at me.

"Well if you put it that way," I said, and gave a flirty little smile. "How can I refuse?" I think he liked the attention I was giving him as much as I liked the view I was getting of his chest. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top, and I have to say that I was not complaining at all. Then I realised what I was thinking and tried to stop. I should _not_ be thinking about one of my Professors in that way.

"What seems to be the problem Miss Weasley?" He asked. I made I face.

"Firstly, if I get to call you Harry, you have to call me Ginny. Is that fair?"

"Ok Ginny," he said, and I smiled again. "Why are you having trouble?"

"I don't know what I think."

"Do you think bad and evil is the same thing?"

"No."

"Then explain why you think they're different," He made it sound so simple, but I'd guessed as much myself.

"That's just it, I don't know."

"Ok, well tell me. Is your brother putting soap on your toothbrush bad, or evil?"

"Evil," I said. "They've all tried it at least once."

"What about a wizard killing 12 people with a single curse?"

"Oh my god," I put a hand over my mouth in shock at the thought. "That's evil."

"And that makes your brother seem?" He looked at me to finish the sentence.

"Bad."

"Exactly," he said waving a hand. "Do you see the difference?"

"I think so," I said, but I still wasn't sure although he had helped a lot. He was a good teacher.

"They way I see it," he said, and I listened intently. "Is that evil is extremely strong. Evil is a heartless act and is consumed by things like hate and greed. You can't really escape from it. It eats away at your soul. Once you've been tempted by evil, there's no turning back. It will be a part of you forever." I looked away from him. The intensity in his eyes was scaring me. I had never heard anyone speak with so much conviction, it was unnerving. How could one person have so much passion? I could tell from his tone that he was speaking about something he detested. He could understand evil. I felt so young and naïve.

"Sounds horrible," I said quietly.

"I didn't mean to scare you," He said and I looked back into his eyes. The intensity was gone, and had been replaced with concern.

"You didn't scare me," I said quite truthfully. "I've just never heard evil described like that before. You really know what you're talking about, and I can tell that you hate it."

"Evil is the reason behind so much pain and suffering," he said, and I could see some of it in his eyes. "There's no place for it in this world. Yet it is still here." He trailed off, staring into space. I couldn't agree more.

"I think we've progressed on to lesson two Harry," I said, not taking my eyes away from his. I wasn't thinking about what I was saying. I was absorbed in an emerald green sea. "I know what to write in my essay."

"That's good," he said looking away. "Is there anything else I can help with?" I came back to reality after his words. While he had been speaking I had sort of forgotten where I was, what I was doing. I had forgotten that he was my teacher. In that minute or so I had seen him as himself. Back on earth, I realised that I had to answer the question.

"No thanks," I said rather reluctantly. I would have loved to have sat with him for much longer, but I couldn't think of an excuse. Besides I shouldn't have even been trying to think of an excuse. _He was my teacher_! "I'd better get on with it. Our next lesson is tomorrow, and I won't have anytime tonight."

"Ok," he said standing up. I was really sad to watch him go, but he paused and turned back around looking thoughtful. "You know, something about your surname rings a bell." He said thoughtfully, and I looked at him in surprise.

"Well, you _were_ here for a bit of your first year," I reminded him. "Maybe you met one of my brothers. Percy, Fred, George, Ron?"

"Yeah," he said nodding. "I vaguely remember a kid called Ron. Red hair, great sense of humour. _Obsessed_ with the Chudley Canons." I laughed slightly.

"That's Ron," I said.

"Funny," he said flashing me a brilliant smile that made my insides start swimming. "Well, I'll see you next lesson." He waved and departed leaving me more confused than ever.


	4. Getting To Know You, or Not

A/N So here's the fourth chapter, and to anyone waiting for an update on SIYE, I'm sorry, it'll be up soon. I work on it as we speak, or watever. Enjoy!

A week passed and I was settling in nicely. I was getting used to patrolling as Head Girl and having to set an example. That didn't mean I had to be an angel. Between you and me, there was a lot of behind the scenes mischief that I was responsible for. For instance the caretaker Filch's cat Mrs Norris didn't shut herself in a particularly large cup located in the trophy room. She was AWOL for three days before Filch tracked her down. The best part was that he had no idea who'd done it. Normally his cat would have told him, because they have this weird telepathic connection that frankly freaks me out. But Mrs Norris hadn't seen me because I grabbed her from behind, and stuffed her in a sack. Don't get me wrong, I really love cats, but that cat is not something you can love. She's evil.

Also, Peeves couldn't have broken the spell securing the potions teacher Professor Snape's office because he can't use a wand. I took credit for that in the common room. No one in Gryffindor likes Snape, the slime ball.

You see, even though I was head girl, I was also the last Weasley at Hogwarts, and would be for a while. In respect to Fred and George, I could not turn into a female version of Percy. They would disown me. Well, they wouldn't because they've taught me most of what they know, but I'm sure they'd be very disappointed.

I hadn't had too many close encounters with Harry since our meeting in the library. I'd kept up the friendly chit chat, and was quite convinced we were becoming friends. That was fine. There was nothing wrong with talking to a teacher, even if I was imagining other activities involving the two of us that didn't include any words. I had to keep those thoughts on the low.

I'd written my essay on Bad and Evil, and been really happy with it. Harry smiled warmly at me when I handed it over. That made me even more pleased with myself. Melinda Gordon had given me a filthy look. It didn't seem that Professor Potter had been making an effort to be friends with any of the other students.

He certainly had been making an effort with me. He smiled and said hello every time he saw me, something that Britney and Colin had been quick to notice. He also asked my opinion a lot in class. It was good to know that he valued my in put. It made me feel special.

Harry handed the essays back a week after taking them up. I was shocked to see that I'd received top marks. I'd even beaten Colin, and he's a real brain. Harry had written a comment in the top corner of my parchment. _'An excellent essay Ginny. Your depth of thought and understanding is amazing! Keep up the good work.'_ I was a bit confused. He did realise that the only reason I had understanding was because he had helped me, didn't he? Oh well, I wasn't complaining about a good mark.

After distributing all the papers, he headed back to his desk and sat down. He placed his chin on his hands, and surveyed the class. This was so Dumbledore-esque, that I had to stifle a giggle. He went on to address the class on his thoughts of our essays.

"So, overall I thought they were quite good. It seems that most of you understood the basics, but, like I said, it was an opinion essay, so there were no wrong answers. I want you to read my comments, and if you have any questions," he said, and he looked around. No one said anything so he continued. "Good, let's crack on then shall we? So, today I thought that we'd start with some practical defence. Wands out, and everyone stand up." We did as we were told. Everyone was murmuring excitedly. I always loved practical lessons. It gave me an excuse to hex the people I don't like. Harry waved his wand and the desks flew to the edges of the room, leaving a large space in the centre.

The entire class stood in a circle around Harry waiting for him to speak. "Now you've learnt about the unforgivable curses, am I correct?"

"Yes sir," Someone said from the opposite side of the room. I couldn't see who.

"Ok good, because that's magic you need to know about," he said seriously. "But today I thought we'd practice repelling those spells that we can. I think you all know that there's no blocking an unforgivable curse," We all shuddered. Harry continued. "Now I need a volunteer. Miss Weasley, can I call upon you to assist me?" We stared at each other for a moment and he grinned.

"You sure can Professor," I said enthusiastically and I bounded into the centre. "Where do you want me?"

"Just stand over there for the moment," he was laughing at me, but I didn't mind. I flicked my hair around, and walked over to where he was pointing. As I went, I noticed that most of the girls in the room were glaring at me. They would have killed to have him giving them attention. I felt rather good about myself. "Now," Harry fixed me with a sexy smirk. I'm sure he wasn't aiming to look sexy, but let's just face the fact that everything he does is pretty sexy. "Jinx me." The way he said that was too hot for words. I had an idea of what I would like to do to him, and it had nothing to do with wands, or jinxes for that matter.

"Jinx you," I said a little surprised. I was unwilling to turn my wand on a teacher, even when he was smirking at me. "Am I going to loose points for this Professor?" A few people laughed. Harry chuckled.

"No Ginny," he said and several people muttered. They were probably wondering why he used my first name. "I'm demonstrating how to repel a spell. Now kindly throw what ever hex or jinx you can think of at me, providing that it's legal. Oh, and no speaking." I was still a little timid, but I obeyed.

I sent my school famous Bat Bogey Hex at him, expecting to see him with little winged bogey's flying around his head. I was surprised. Without speaking, he raised his wand, and a pink sort of shield erupted from the end of it. The force was so strong that I was knocked off my feet, and fell onto the hard floor.

"Ow!" I said rubbing my backside. That floor was solid stone.

"I'm sorry Miss Weasley," Harry walked over and held out his hand to help me up. I smiled and took the hand and he helped me to my feet. I didn't want to let go, but the room was full of other people. Oh yes, and he's my teacher. "Now was that a Bat Bogey Hex?" He asked me.

"Yeah," I said. "But what spell was that?" I indicated his wand. Harry looked surprised at my question, but then he looked around the class, and saw that everyone was wearing confused looks like mine.

"Haven't any of you," he said. "That was a shield charm. Haven't you seen one before?"

"No," I said. I had never seen anything like that before. It seemed that no one in the class had either.

"But you've heard of them right?" Harry said disbelievingly.

"No," I said again. "Never. What's a shield charm?"

"When Dumbledore said that you weren't prepared he really meant it," Harry muttered, and only I heard him. "Ok, well a shield charm is just that. A shield. It can be used to repel most spells, and is very effective. If you've never done it before, then we should try it verbally first. The incantation is _'Protego'_. Divide into pairs and try it out." We did as he told us. I was partnering Britney. She couldn't get the hang of the spell. I had stunned her about three times before we decided that I should give it a go.

Britney sent the Jelly Legs jinx at me and I said 'Protego' immediately. A small pink shield came out of my wand, but it wasn't enough to stop the jinx. I wobbled around the room for a while until it wore off. To my horror, Harry had been watching me. He was waiting next to Britney when I returned.

"A good first attempt," he said. "But I don't think you're holding your wand correctly."

"Really?" I asked and I moved into position again.

"Now pretend you're casting it again," he said and I raised my wand. "Yeah, you see your hand should be around to the right a little more." He held out his own wand to show me, but I didn't get it. He moved around behind me, and slipped both arms around me to adjust my hand.

I thought Harry was hot to look at, but the jolt I felt in my stomach when he had his arms around me was enormous. I had some urges in that moment which I would rather keep to myself, but I think you get the drift. Harry didn't seem to be having the same feelings of lust, although he didn't move.

"Like that," He said. His head was right next to mine. I turned my head to look at him. He was looking at me.

"I think I get it now Professor," I murmured. We were really close. My eyes darted from his eyes to his lips, and back again before I realised we were in class, and there were thirty other people watching. He seemed to come to a similar realization. We both looked away from each other, and he dropped his arms.

"Try it out again," he instructed and I moved into place. Britney was smirking at me. I glared at her. She threw a hex at me, and I deflected it, completely. I looked excitedly at Harry who was smiling "Well done." He said, and he moved off to have a look at some other students.

"What," Britney said as she leaned in close. "Was _that_ all about?" She raised her eyebrows at me.

"I have no idea what you're on about Britney," I said in a dignified voice. I looked away from her as a slight flush crept up my cheeks. I knew exactly what she was talking about, and it seemed that she had guessed as much.

"Oh I think you do," she flicked a speck of dirt absentmindedly from the end of her wand. "And we will be talking about it after class." She moved away so we could practice the spell again.

We did talk about it after class. The first thing Britney said to me after she shoved me into a girls' bathroom, was a demand to know if I was sleeping with him.

"No," I said in an offended voice. "What sort of question is _that_? I'm one of his students."

"Ok," Britney changed tack. "But you _wish_ you were shagging him. Or at least you've imagined it." She narrowed her eyes. My cheeks went scarlet, mainly because no matter how much I tried to deny it, she was right.

"Once or twice," I admitted looking at my feet.

"A night," Britney added, and I looked up at her with my mouth open. She just let out a derisive laugh. "Come on Ginny, don't play dumb with me. You are totally hot for him, and unless I'm very much mistaken, he's hot for you too."

"You think so?" I said a little too keenly. Britney smirked again, and put on a sweet voice.

"Oh Ginny you're not holding you're wand right so I'll use it as an excuse to rub up against you even though I could easily just adjust your hand from the side," She said this in a high girly sort of voice.

"Is this wrong?" I asked her. She placed a hand on my arm.

"Yes sweetie," she said. "But I think in Professor Potter's case, we can make an exception."

"He is extraordinarily hot," I said sadly.

"Exactly," she said. "But it's a faze babes. It'll pass." She assured me. I wasn't so convinced. Something was telling me that my 'thing' for Harry wasn't just a crush, and wasn't just a faze. Only time would tell.

I gave it time, and time told me a hell of a lot. Firstly, it told me that I like having conversations with Harry. Secondly, it told me that crushes most certainly don't just evaporate, and lastly, it told me that constantly talking to your crush is a sure way to deepen said crush. I really brought it on myself you know. I just couldn't help it. I liked talking to Harry. We got along really well, and I found it easy to open up to him. I just wished he would open up to me.

I found myself going to chat to him all the time. I would always stay to chat after class, which sometimes made me late for my next lesson. Even on days that I didn't have a class with him I'd pop into his office, or spot him in the library. Sometimes we'd bump into each other in the corridor, which would again result in me being late for a class. I seriously could just talk to him forever. Looking back, I can't even remember what we talked about. Conversation just flowed. I was so comfortable with him

I was making a habit of 'accidentally' bumping into him. One accidental time was the Halloween Hogsmede weekend. I'd spotted him going into the Three Broomsticks, and had followed.

It didn't take long before we were both sitting at the same table, merrily chatting away. When he'd seen me he'd brought me a butterbeer.

"You know something Ginny," he said thoughtfully taking a sip of his own drink. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were stalking me." He chuckled good naturedly, and I felt my cheeks go red.

We lapsed into a comfortable silence. Silences between the two of us were always comfortable. There were no awkward pauses, or times when I didn't know what to say. Although when I wasn't with him, I was constantly confused.

We were friends. That statement seemed to just about fit our relationship. Or whatever we had together. But when I thought about it, when I really thought about it, Harry was still a stranger to me. I barely knew anything about him. I didn't know about his family, his schooling, his life. Yet I still felt like I knew him. I realise that makes no sense what so ever, and that thought came to mind when I was sitting in the Three Broomsticks with him.

"You know I've been wondering some things about you Harry," I said and he instantly became uncomfortable.

"You have," he said, eyes shifting around slightly. His features were closed.

"Yeah," I plunged on hoping I wouldn't ruin what we'd been building. "About your schooling. Where'd you go after you left Hogwarts?"

"Beauxbatons," He mumbled looking down at the table. "I went there for three years." I was intrigued.

"Wow France," I said trying to catch his eye. No such luck. "How did your folks feel about that?" Now the discomfort was replaced with fear. I could blatantly see it in his eyes. There was a short pause, and he laughed nervously.

"Do you need another drink?" he asked nodding to my bottle. I shook my head feeling surprised. Did he just change the subject? I'm positive he just ignored my question. Well I wasn't giving up there.

"So where did you go after Beauxbatons?" I asked, feeling the subject of his parents was not something to be going into. If I wasn't careful, he was going to flee.

"Um – well," he'd gone slightly pink. "Well, that was kind of it for me."

"You only spent four years at school?" I asked incredulously.

"Well, I graduated ahead you see," he said not quite meeting my eyes. My mouth dropped open. "Then I sort of did Auror training, and became qualified when I turned seventeen." I was utterly speechless. He did NEWTs at age fourteen, and then went on to do Auror training, which even some people who are old enough can't cope with.

"Wow," I said and he went even pinker. "I realised you were good, but I didn't realise you were _that_ good," There was a long pause as I tried to absorb the information. "I mean, my brother Ron's in Auror training now, and he says it's really tough."

"Ron's an Auror?" Harry asked with interest, clearly glad to steer the conversation away from him.

"Well, he will be if he doesn't fail," I explained feeling like I should just keep the conversation flowing. I noticed him relaxing slightly. "Fred and George keep telling him that he will, but Bill told me he's doing really well." Harry frowned at me slightly.

"Who are Fred, George and Bill?" He asked curiously. I had completely forgotten that I hadn't told him about my family yet. It hadn't really come up until now.

"They're my brothers, I have 6," and I was off. I told him all about my family, and my childhood, and my parents, and how I both loved and hated my brothers at the same time. This topic lasted all afternoon. Harry was intrigued. He laughed loudly at my stories, and asked me endless questions about them. I could have sworn I detected a hint of envy in his eyes. I have absolutely no idea why though.

When I asked him about his family however, he immediately changed the topic to Quidditch. I thought that talking about my family might make him open up, but no such luck. I didn't press him though.

Walking away from that day in Hogsmede I realised just how much I didn't know about Harry. He was a mystery, maybe that's what attracted me to him. That, and the fact that he's _'ravish me right now I'm begging you'_ good looking.

But although I didn't know that much about Harry's life, I still felt like I knew him better than anyone else. I'd just let him into the biggest and most important part of my life; my family. I don't normally go telling people embarrassing stories from my childhood, but with Harry, I just opened up. I felt like I could tell him anything.

He wasn't my teacher anymore. He'd lost that label. He was my friend. There was no other word for it. I couldn't see him as a Professor anymore. Little did I realise what a dangerous chain of thought that statement lead to.


End file.
